Akita Shinkansen

From JNSwiki

Komachi at Omagari station.

The Akita Shinkansen (秋田新幹線^?) is a Mini-shinkansen high-speed rail line in Japan. Serving the Kantō and Tōhoku Regions of the country, it links Tōkyō and Akita in Akita prefecture with direct service. From Tōkyō to Morioka in Iwate prefecture, it operates on the Tōhoku Shinkansen tracks. From there to Ōmagari, it uses the Tazawako Line tracks. The section from Ōmagari to Akita use the Ōu Main Line tracks.

History

March 22, 1997: The segment from Morioka to Akita began operating on with E3 series trains, 5 cars long.
1998: Trains extended to 6 cars
September 16, 2001: line celebrates 10 millionth passenger.
March 11, 2006: line celebrates 20 millionth passenger.
March 18, 2007: All cars are made no smoking.

Future

March 2013: New E6 series trains will be introduced on Komachi services.^[1]
March 2014: All Komachi services will be operated by E6 series trains, operating at 320 km/h on the Tōhoku Shinkansen.^[1]

Operations

Komachi trains couple with Hayate trains on the Tōhoku Shinkansen for the portion of the journey between Tōkyō and Morioka. Between Morioka and Akita, the Komachi runs as a six-car independent train. It uses E3 series rolling stock.

Stations

Between Tōkyō and Morioka, the stations are the same as those on the Tōhoku Shinkansen. From there on, the stations are as follows:

Station	Japanese	Distance (km) (from Tōkyō)	Transfers	Location
Morioka	盛岡	535.3	Tōhoku Shinkansen, Tōhoku Main Line, Yamada Line, Tazawako Line, Iwate Ginga Line	Morioka	Iwate Prefecture
Shizukuishi	雫石	552.9	Tazawako Line	Shizukuishi	Iwate Prefecture
Tazawako	田沢湖	579.4	Tazawako Line	Senboku	Akita Prefecture
Kakunodate	角館	600.0	Tazawako Line, Akita Inland Railway Local Line	Senboku
Ōmagari	大曲	618.5	Ōu Main Line, Tazawako Line	Daisen
Akita	秋田	670.2	Ōu Main Line, Uetsu Main Line, Oga Line	Akita